Effect of Heat Treatment on Reversed Austenite in Cr15 Super Martensitic Stainless Steel Original Research Article

The effect of different heat treatments on the reversed austenite in Cr15 super martensitic stainless steel was investigated. The experimental results indicate that the microstructure of the steel is composed of tempered martensite and diffused reversed austenite after quenching at 1050 °C and tempering from 550 to 750 °C. The volume fraction and size of reversed austenite increase with increasing tempering temperature and both of them reach the maximum value at 700 °C. The volume fraction and size of reversed austenite decrease when the temperature is above 700 °C. The transmission electron microscope (TEM) results indicate that the orientation relationship between tempered martensite and reversed austenite belongs to Kurdjmov-Sach (K-S) relationship.